Top of the Class
'''Top of the Class '''is the ninth episode of season 1 of the Adventures of Harry Flynn, and the ninth episode overall. A valedictorian controversy turns out to be much more dangerous than Harry anticipated. Synopsis Spinelli is attempting to teach Brody how to play "Go Fish". They're interrupted by a phone call from Stella Rodney, a student at Teddy Roosevelt High School, wanted the police to investigate cheating at her high school. Spinelli explains that this isn't really police business but that he can refer her to someone who may be able to help. Meanwhile, Harry and Carolyn enjoy drinks in Harry's office. Carolyn tells Harry that the assistant editor at the Ledger is leaving for another paper, and that she seems to be a lock to get the vacant post. They hug for a while, when Deborah bursts into the office. Thinking this is similar to Harry's intrusion on her time with Jimmy the Foot, Deborah has a minor fit. Deborah shows Stella Rodney into the office as Carolyn exits. Stella explains that even though she should be valedictorian at her high school, a boy named Joey Stucci is going to get it. Joey is far from a model student, and Harry agrees to check in to him. Harry's first attempt at gathering information is cut short by his suspicious appearance around the high school, so he enlists Carolyn's help (and expertise as a journalist) to get the information he needs. A student named Clyde reveals that Joey Stucci's family meets often with the school administration after hours, but flees the two when they ask for more dirt. Carolyn heads back to the Ledger to see what she can find about the Stucci family, while Harry heads back to his office. At the office, Harry tries to find a way to get into the principal's office. First, he tries to see if Deborah can pass as his high school senior daughter, but settles for her younger brother Johnny to pose as his son instead. Harry organizes a meeting with Principal Bonner about his valedictorian-level son trying to enroll at Teddy Roosevelt High School. Bonner makes every effort to discourage the valedictorian talk. Things are still going well for Harry until Johnny accidentally calls him Harry by mistake, blowing their covers. Harry and Johnny run out of Bonner's office and right into Mrs. Jennings, a old teacher, who recognizes Harry from his journalist stint the previous day. She tells him that she's knows what he's investigating and that Bonner was meeting with his "associates" later that night. They leave the high school. Harry goes back to his office to prepare for the infiltration of the meeting. Returning to the high school yet again, Harry slips past a familiar-looking janitor and into the school. Discretely watching through a window, Harry finds Bonner, Joey Stucci, and Giovanni Colazione in the principal's office! Knowing that the area is probably heavily guarded and recalling his last encounter with the Colaziones, Harry finds a telephone in a teachers' lounge and calls Carolyn to alert her of the situation. Surprisingly, she found a connection between the Stucci's and the Colazione's and had been trying to contact Harry ever since. The Colazione's have a history of extorting academic honors as a means to save vast amounts of higher education spending. As Harry tells Carolyn he's going to try to slip out of the school, he is pistol whipped by Vito at Vinny's command. Main Cast Lukas Tomasacci as Officer Travis Spinelli Elsbeth Williams as Carolyn Hammett Brandon Leon-Gambetta as Harry Flynn Brandi George as Deborah Sullivan Recurring Cast Mark Zurek as Officer Brody Lukas Tomasacci as Giovanni Colazione Mark Zurek as Vinny Drake Nester as Vito Other Cast Lukas Tomasacci as Announcer Brandi George as Stella Rodney Elsbeth Williams as Student #1 Lukas Tomasacci as Student #2 Drake Nester as Clyde Brandi George as Johnny Sullivan Mark Zurek as Principal Bonner Elsbeth Williams as Mrs. Jennings Commercial: Shooter String Drake Nester as Commercial Announcer Brandon Leon-Gambetta as Dying Man Brandi George as Interested Woman Elsbeth Williams as Dr. Ima Fraud Trivia *The opening scene of this episode is the first scene of the series in which Harry Flynn does not speak. *Stella Rodney's first name means "star", i.e. that she is very bright, hence her valedictorian pursuit. *Harry has great difficulty saying "Bull Moose", the mascot for Teddy Roosevelt High School. Teddy Roosevelt ran for a third term as President as the candidate of the Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose party. *When recording the episode, the part of Johnny Sullivan had not been cast. Brandi George quickly took the role, leading to an awkward conversation between Deborah and Johnny. *Strangely, almost the entire cast had difficulty pronouncing Principal Bonner's name. *This is the first episode to end with a cliffhanger. *A phone can be heard ringing during Harry's long monologue in his office when he is preparing to go back to the school to infiltrate the meeting. This is Carolyn trying to get a hold of Harry. *Harry's fear of what the Colazione's would do to him if he was caught snooping at the school stems from his encounter with the crime family in The Losing Hand. *Carolyn's "deus ex machina" qualities, particularly her vast knowledge of specific facts, fails her this episode. *Vinny and Vito only appear in the last minute of the episode. They have two lines each. *The season 1 finale concludes in The Angel and The Change of Pace. Category:Episodes